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Monday, July 5, 2010

Where did the idea come from I asked him? He is always driving. How much can you see while navigating the roads of northern Italy?
You see lots of yellow stucco buildings with red tile roofs. And you see barns with little square windows and large barn doors. He came home and knew exactly how to build our barn doors better than anything we had seen in Italy.

My favorite building and my garden

Our builder didn't want to tackle the doors. The local millwork shop didn't know how to support the heavy doors, each weighing more than 400 pounds.

My non building, business executive husband came up with a very novel idea. Not only did he hand build each door but he also had the metal fabricating shop manufacture 4 steel plates (2 for the front and 2 for the back ) each measuring 8 feet tall. The steel plates were to act as "washers".

The heavy doors were hung onto the metal plates, of course. Problem solved.

13 comments:

That's basically how they are hung here. The lower hook part of the hinge is attached to the door opening with a plate soldered onto it, and that plate is bolted to the door frame. The big difference is that here, the door frames are made out of masonry material, which holds the weight easily. The idea is the same as what you did though, you guys used a bigger plate. Makes a lot of sense, and the doors look great.

This is a perfect example of there being more than one way to solve a problem! I love it when fresh eyes look at something and bring to the table a new way of thinking! Carpenters solve problems using wood and tools, artists use paint and creativity....your husband was coming at this problem from a completely different angle and could see it in a way none of the others could! Bravo!

Well, I must admit I still don't understand how he did it but as always am incredible impressed with the phenomenal home you and your husband have created. He does sound very brilliant! And your vision is just astounding. xo – g

Hi Theresa, your comment is right on. Fresh eyes look at a problem and bring new ideas to the table. And Gene did just that. Thanks for all of your comments. I had Gene read them and he doesn't think that he is so special, just practical.

Hi Georgianna, Gene chuckled. Brilliant not but I must tell you that I think that he is pretty special and amazing. He saved a drowning man out of the Snake River, he performed the Heimlich maneuver on a man choking in a restaurant, he was a passenger in a car when the driver had a seisure,so Gene took over from the passenger seat. Flying to Lima, Peru a passenger had swallowed his tongue, Gene is the only one who noticed and who helped. TODAY, he showed up just in time to help a lady who had fallen out of her wheelchair in the grocery store parking lot. I know this sounds like I am making all of this up. It is all true.